Cigarette case



Oct. 20, 1936. A. w. SINCLAIR 1 2,057,926

' CIGARETTE CASE v Filed Aug. 15, 1955 2/ I Al-Kred Wi lspn sincl aar lNvENTOfi Patented Oct. 20, 1936 UH'I'ED STATES PATENT OFFICE Application August 15, 1935, Serial No. 36,281 In Great Britain November 2'7, 1934 Claims. (01. 206-41l This invention relates to magazine cigarette cases of the kind comprising two substantially rectangular parallel faces corresponding in their width to the length of a cigarette and in their 5 height to the addeddiameters of the cigarettes to be accommodated, these members being separated by the diameter of a cigarette and having their parallel edges joined by narrow side, top and bottom wa'lls. .Such cigarette cases are provided with meansfor ejecting the cigarettes through an aperture in a side wall and means for feeding the cigarettes to the ejecting means.

According to the present invention a magazine cigarette case of this kind is provided with reciprocable means for ejecting one cigarette at a time and with a resilient feed device for holding the cigarettes up to the ejecting means.

In a convenient form of the invention, the ejector comprises an inwardly directed tongue slidably mounted on the interior of the top end wall oft-he case and having an actuating projection or;stud formed thereon or attached thereto and projecting exteriorlythrough a slot in the said end wall. Preferably theend wall with its ejector is detachable from the body of the case, as by beingsprun or slid into engagement therewith, in order to facilitate the insertion ofcigarettes.

As regards the feed, device; this may comprise a movable member lying within the case for supporting the lowermost cigarette and urged away from the bottom of the case by an interposed spring or other resilient means. Such a feed device thus holds the uppermost cigarettes at all times against the top of the case and in registration with the ejector ready for ejection, and it is to be noted that such resilient contact is sulficient to prevent the cigarette from slipping out of the case under the action of gravity in certain positions of the case.

A convenient form of such a feed device comprises a metal strip corresponding generally in shape to the projected area of a cigarette and having attached to its underside the upper ends of two bent wire springs, symmetrically arranged to predispose the metal strip to lie at all times parallel to the bottom of the case. For convenience in manufacture, such springs are preferably formed by a bending wire in zi g-zag or V-shape substantially in a single plane.

5 The invention may obviously take a large variety of practical forms, to one of which the following description and accompanying drawing have reference, for the sake of example only.

In the drawing: 55 Figure 1 is a front elevation of a magazine cigarette case in accordance with the invention.

Figure 2 is a side elevation,

Figure 3 is a plan view. Figure 4 is a view similar to Figure 1, but sho ing the case in section, and *5 Figure 5 is a detail showing the feed device held in the re-loading position.

In the drawing the thin rectangular body of the case is indicated generally by the numeral 1 and the detachable upper end wall or lid by 2. 10 The latter has a lateral rib or flange 3 extending along each of its long sides, which is slid or pressed into an internal groove (see Figure 2) in an upstanding ear or side plate 4, these cars being carried by or formed on the front and rear 15 faces of the case at the upper edges of the latter.

Preferably the ribs 3 on the lid 2 are slightly reduced in breadth where they lie'in the said grooves so as to guard against accidental endwise, as well as upward, displacement of the lid.

When the case is in use, the uppermost cigarette 5 is upwardly pressed, by means hereinafter to be described, against the under side of the lid and is caused to protrude when required through a suitable trough-shaped aperture 6 in the top of a side wall 1 of the case.

In order to effect the necessary longitudinal movement of the cigarette 5 when required, an ejector arrangement is carried on the under side of the lid 2, and comprises a metal strip 8 connected to an external stud 9 sliding in a groove ill in the top of the lid by a reduced neck ll sliding in a correspondingly narrow slot I2 in the lid.

The end of the strip 8 nearest the side wall 1 is bent into an upturned tongue l3 slidingly housed in a groove or elongated recess M in the under side of the lid. The recess l4 also accommodates a helical spring [5 acting to urge the ejector strip constantly to the right, as viewed in Figure 5, thereby maintaining a down-turned tongue 16 at the other end thereof adjacent to the right hand side I! of the case.

Below this tongue the side wall I! has on its inner surface a vertical rib 18 which ensures that the rising cigarettes will not foul the tongue It should the latter not be quite at its extreme right hand position.

From the foregoing it will be understood that on moving the stud 9 to the left by the pressure of a finger the tongue l6 will move to protrude the top cigarette 5 through the opening 6 for withdrawal. The return spring I5 will effect, or materially assist the return of the strip 8 and the tongue IE to their original positions, when the next cigarette will have risen to replace that originally withdrawn. In order to prevent buckling of the spring IS on compression, a covering or closure strip l9 may be pressed or sprung into position over the recess [4 as shown.

For holding the cigarettes up against the ejector mechanism there is provided a feed device comprising a movable member 20 underlying the lowermost cigarette and having the form of a horizontal rectangular metal strip whose dimensions correspond to the projected area of a ciga- I rette. The strip 2|] is urged resiliently upward by two flat zig-zag bent Wire springs 2| whichare attached at their upper ends to the extremities of the strip 20, being symmetrically arranged to predispose the strip to lie horizontally. g

Approximately at the mid-point of each of the long sides of the movable strip 20 is a downturned tab or lug 22. A transverse pin or bar 23 passes through these lugs, and its ends project externally through vertical slots 24 in the front and rear faces of the case, these slotsv extending for nearly the full height of the latter, and enabling the user to see at a glance how many cigarettes are left therein.

The external ends of the transverse pin 23 carry ribbed rectangular buttons 25 to enable the movable strip 20 to be drawn down by the thumb and finger during re-loading of the case. Means are also provided for releasably holding the strip 20 at the bottom of the case during this operation, comprising a rib 26 on each side of each slot 24, the arrangement being such that by drawing the buttons 25 fully down and turning them through they are temporarily held down during re-loading by the lower ends of the ribs '26, as shown in Figure 4. As shown, the ribs 26 may have others associated with them to form a corrugated or fluted ornamentation.

I claim:--

1. A magazine cigarette case comprising in combination a fiat rectangular container openat its upper end, a cover normally closing said end but displacement to permit the crosswise stacking of cigarettes in said container, manually reciprocable ejector means carried by said cover for successively ejecting said cigarettes through a lateral aperture in said container, resilient feed means positioned in said container between the lower end thereof and the lowermost cigarette for holding the cigarettes up to said ejector means, a projection carried by said feed means and protruding through a substantially vertical slot in said container for permitting manual compression of said feed means to facilitate loading of the case, and. catch means for temporarily maintaining said feed means in its compressed state.

2. A magazine cigarette case according to claim 1, and comprising opposite projections carried by said feed means and protruding respectively through substantially vertical slots in 0pposite faces of said container for simultaneous actuation by a finger and thumb of the user.

3. A magazine cigarette case according to claim 1, and in which said feed means comprises a vertically sliding cigarette-supporting plate and a compression spring interposed between the same-and the bottom of said container, the said plate carrying a transverse pin whose ends protrude through substantially vertical slots in opposite faces of said container and bear external buttons for simultaneous actuation by a finger andthumb of the user.

4. A magazine cigarette case according to claim 1, and in which said feed means comprises avertically sliding cigarette-supporting plate and a compression spring interposed between the same and the bottom of said container, the said plate carrying a transverse pin Whose ends protrude through substantially vertical slots inopposite faces of said container and bear external buttons for simultaneous actuation by a finger and thumb of the user, said buttons being elongated and rotatable at the'bottom of their travel to 00- act with external projections on said case forming said catch means.

5. A magazine cigarette case according to claim 1, and in which said feed means comprises a vertically sliding cigarette-supporting plate and a compression spring interposed between the same and the bottom of said container, said spring being formed of wire bent oppositely at intervals to lie substantially in a single plane. 7

' ALFRED W. SINCLAIR. 

